The present invention relates to an improved fastener for a shin guard and to an improved combined shin guard and fastener and to an improved shin guard which can selectively mount an improved fastener and to a shin guard fastener and sock combination.
By way of background, in sports such as hockey, shin guards are used to protect the shins of a player. The shin guards are usually mounted directly on the leg underneath a stocking. The shin guards are usually secured in position by means of upper and lower straps. This is usually insufficient to hold the shin guard in position. Accordingly, in the past there were numerous supplementary ways of holding the shin guard in position. One way was by binding the outside of the sock with adhesive tape. However, this was generally inadequate in that if the tape was wound too loosely, the shin guard was not held in position, and if it was wound too tightly, it could cut off circulation. Also in the past, elastic bands were used at the top and bottom of the shin guards. However, these bands, being stretchable, would permit the shin guard to move. Also, prior devices included an elongated sheet of elastic with vertical bands of hook and pile fabric at the edges of the sheet, and these were wound around the leg. However, the sheet would not conform to the leg and thus there was looseness in certain areas. It is with overcoming the foregoing deficiencies of the prior art that the present invention is concerned.